Peg and Bette on their first outing!
I am pleased with Bette and I know we will go to lots of things together. I do not intend to use that particular shawl pin as a closing device, but it works for the photo op!!

I was not looking forward to the sleeves with all the 'baby cables' but they went very well and do make for a nice fitted sleeve! I am also pleased with the change I made in the directional cables on the borders! All in all, I love the yarn, the pattern and the finished sweater. I used 10 balls of Rowan Cotton Glace and it took me about two weeks to knit the sweater. I spent $73.00 on yarn and I plan on a beautiful antiqued silver button that will bring the cost of the sweater to close to $85.00! What would you charge if someone wanted you to knit one? Probably very few people would pay you the price you would need to even make $5.00 an hour!~ Bette is not for sale, because to me she is priceless!
This little shell is called Audrey and she is in the same Elsebeth Lavold pattern book as Bette. I am now knitting her to go with Bette, but I am doing the three inches of baby cable on the bottom of the front and back and changing the interrupted ribbing up the front and back of Audrey to the 'baby cable' pattern. I will knit the body the same length as Bette. I will keep the cascading leaves about the armholes, as I really like it and I think it will add something to the sweater! If I have enough yarn, and I probably will, I might also make a short sleeve for Audrey. She is shown with detachable sleeves - sort of 'arm warmers', but they would look good on a younger body than mine.

I have never had a really nice sweater set, but I think I will enjoy this set and it will be going to lots of nice gatherings! As it is a matte cotton, I have no qualms about wearing it in all four seasons - I love to get as much mileage out of something like this as I possibly can.

Have you gone to the latest Knitty patterns? I received an email to state that new patterns had been posted and I took a look. Many appeal to me, but I fell in love with Tangerine Twist
I do not plan to knit it in a tangerine colour, but I have about ten balls of the same Grignasco Merinogold that I knit my granddaughter's shrug from and I would like to make Tangerine Twist and knit it with long sleeves! Seems I am on a roll with changing patterns to my liking. That is why we all knit! I would never have had the confidence early in my knitting life to change anything on a written pattern, other than perhaps the length of something, but now I feel confident enough to make changes where I know they will give me the finished garment I want.

Thanks for the compliments on my blocking board. As a few people said, sometimes the simpler the better! It works for me! Also, I got a very nice note from my granddaughter to say that she loves the shrug and it fits - a little loosely, but that is okay! She is becoming a knitter and she seems to appreciate the finishing details on her shrug. That makes Nana happy!